In a contest that was waaay more thrilling — and higher scoring — than the actual NCAA basketball championship game, the guys in Green Day jumped out to an early lead, then held on for dear life as Hayley Williams and company staged a furious second-half comeback ... one that, ultimately, fell short as polls closed at midnight. All in all, more than 120,000 votes were cast in the matchup, and Green Day ended up winning by fewer than 2,500. It was a nail-biter, a squeaker, and it came down to the wire. In other words, it was everything you could possibly want in a title game.

So congratulations to Billie Joe, Tré and Mike, who join last year's champs, Coheed and Cambria, in the annals of Musical March Madness history. Your trophy is being engraved as you read this. And congrats are also in order for Paramore, who showed grit and determination on their road to the championship game — besting foes like My Chemical Romance, Tokio Hotel and Linkin Park — but just didn't have enough left in the tank to take the title.

In fact, congratulations, and our sincere thanks, to all the fans and all the bands who took part in our Musical March Madness tournament. Your votes, comments, tweets and Facebook campaigns not only helped MMM shatter records, but genuinely impressed us, too. If there were a trophy to give all of you, we'd gladly pay to have it engraved.

So, that's a wrap on the 2011 Musical March Madness tournament ... it's been quite a ride, filled with thrilling highs and crushing lows, shocking upsets and last-second heroics. And, after millions of votes, thousands of arguments, 63 matchups, six rounds and three weeks, it's Green Day who reign supreme. And if your favorite band fell short, well, there's always next year, right?

Are you happy about Green Day winning this year's MMM title? Share your opinions in the comments.